


you have your mother's name

by theprimrosepath



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Baby Edward, Childbirth, F/M, Hohenheim Has Become a Father and He Is a Big Dork Who May Need a Hug, Men Crying, Very short Drabble, aka how do i tag this story, fluff (mostly), specifically soon after it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-12
Updated: 2017-03-12
Packaged: 2018-10-03 14:50:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10249223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theprimrosepath/pseuds/theprimrosepath
Summary: Hohenheim's son has been born, and he is beautiful.





	

**Author's Note:**

> when you’ve been rewatching fmab, you’re almost to the end again, you thought of hamilton’s dear theodosia and now you’re left w 534 words of your first fma fic in over a year: me

Tears pool in Hohenheim’s eyes. He blows noisily into a tissue.

 

“Shh, honey, you’ll wake him up,” Trisha murmurs, cradling her newborn son in her exhausted arms, “and after we just got him to stop crying too.”

 

“I’m sorry, Trisha. I’m just—” Hohenheim blows into another tissue, quieter this time. A small pile of them is beginning to build up beside the box. He takes another to vainly dab at the fountains his eyes have become. “Our son. He’s beautiful.”

 

Trisha smiles, closing her eyes. “I’m surprised you can say that about a newborn child.”

 

Frankly, Hohenheim’s son is not handsome. His lopsided head, blond hairs plastered to the surface, rests in the crook of Trisha’s arm, misshapen from the trauma of being born, and the small rise and fall of his chest belies the piercing screams that came out of his tiny lungs only ten minutes before. His son is ugly, and his son is beautiful.

 

“It’s birth. Birth is incredible—it’s wonderful. A new soul welcomed into the world. And the birth of our own son…” Hohenheim snuffles. “Our son.”

 

Trisha snorts good-humoredly, eyes still closed. “You try pushing a four-kilogram baby out of your pelvis sometime and call it ‘wonderful.’”

 

Hohenheim smiles. “Women who go through the whole ordeal are the most wonderful part of it.”

 

“Oh my god, Van.”

 

“It’s true.”

 

“I won’t deny it,” Trisha agrees, absently swaying the infant in her arms back and forth. “What do you think we should name him?”

 

Hohenheim wipes the last of his tears away. “I don’t know, dear. I’ve never been good with names.”

 

Trisha hums, peering at her son thoughtfully. “We could name him after my grandfather: Edward. I think he has the nose.”

 

“Edward.” Hohenheim smiles. It’s certainly short. “I like it.”

 

“Good, then it’s settled. Although ‘Edward Hohenheim’ might be a bit of a mouthful.”

 

“Give him your name.”

 

Trisha pauses and frowns. “We already talked about this, dear. It’s enough that I never changed my name. We’re giving him your last name.”

 

“No. I’ve changed my mind. Elric is a good name—it’s your name. And my name is… too dangerous.”

 

“It is not. I’m sure there are other Hohenheims in Amestris.”

 

Hohenheim shakes his head. He’s adamant now. “I need to protect him, Trisha. I don’t want Edward to bear the legacy of my name—I don’t want _him_ to ever discover you two. I want to keep you two safe.”

 

His eyes fall on his son, sleeping peacefully in Trisha’s arms. A familiar, desolate pang stirs his heart, but acutely more painful than before.

 

One day Edward will die, just like Trisha. And Hohenheim would rather die himself than see it happen because of him.

 

“Please,” he murmurs.

 

He sees the fresh argument Trisha’s readying fall from her lips without being voiced. She gazes at him with something like sorrow in her eyes, but finally she nods. “All right, Van. If you insist.”

 

* * *

 

Hohenheim sits cross-legged in front of an open, dusty box in the backroom of Pinako’s house. He holds a birth certificate in hand, mind in another dark room nearby where a sleeping boy lies, and silently traces the lettering with a finger.

 

_Edward Elric._

**Author's Note:**

> feel free to come find me at [my tumblr](https://primrose-path-of-dalliance.tumblr.com), where i post fandom things and the occasional bit of writing.


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